Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has stated that the company won't be looking to buy up external publishers and studios in the same way that Microsoft and Sony have.
Microsoft caused shockwaves in the industry earlier this year by acquiring the publisher Activision for almost $70 billion. This week, Sony wrapped up a deal to purchase Destiny studio Bungie for around $3.6 billion.
These aggressive moves have caused many to speculate if Nintendo will look to make any acquisitions itself, but during Nintendo's investor's briefing, Furukawa shot the idea down:
Our brand was built upon products crafted with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who don’t possess Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a plus to the company.
Back in November, Furukawa revealed plans to spend up to 100 billion yen to bolster Nintendo's internal development. It's clear that the company feels the best way to maintain its position is to invest in itself, rather than purchase external entities and bring them into the fold
However, during the briefing, Furukawa did add that Nintendo isn’t against acquisitions in principle, but only if they are necessary. A good example would be the purchase of Luigi's Mansion 3 developer Next Level Games, which was triggered when the studio's major shareholders expressed an interest to sell off their shares.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Tokyo-based consultant Serkan Toto added that he doesn't think Nintendo will look to purchase any studios or publishers:
I really have a hard time imagining which of the big ones they could even be interested in buying. Nintendo will always stay Nintendo. The company has always relied on first-party games, and I don’t see any reason why they should change.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 149
"We already have Mario and Pokemon, we don't need to buy any of your little IPs"
Just like they've been competing for the last 10+ years....they haven't.
If you think about it, Nintendo don't need to buy any more IP like XBOX when they can't utilise all their own, and buying studios is just buying tech and employee contracts somewhere else they aren't in control of- not to mention taking on pensions, health care, and other benefits.
Even if Nintendo did want to buy out a company like say Rare for example, I doubt anyone would want to partnership with them due to Nintendo being overly controlling and always wanting 100% of profits made hence why they didn't opt to go for normal CDs with the gamecube, not to mention how they screwed over 3rd party developers on their past consoles.
That’s why they didn’t buy Rare them!
@BloodNinja put this statement next to Switch sales (you know, the current console) and I makes perfect sense.
That’s a good thing to say, though Nintendo could start buying small promising developers to strengthen their brand image long term
Everyone: "Nintendo, start buying your way to world domination!"
Furukawa: "Why should one buy what one already has? drops mic"
They do not need to, they need to invest in their own internal studios and expand them, with Pokemon and their own franchises they are in great shape.
It's great to see the current Nintendo president showing some integrity. This gives me hope. That said, I don't necessarily think Nintendo--or these other companies--is a greedy corporate monopoly, even if they bought up some studios. This mostly just excites me because it shows Nintendo's commitment to developing quality software.
I much prefer the way Nintendo have been doing acquisitions, buying companies that are already making great games for them makes sense and really doesn't lock out anyone who weren't already interested in playing their games. Buying studios who are primarily multiplatform is a worse practice in my eyes.
The only way Nintendo is going to join the acquisition war with Microsoft and Sony is if things start to get more serious. Nintendo is fine for right now but once Sony and Microsoft go for the big companies you know they'll start to consider it.
I'm glad they're not doing what Microsoft and Sony are doing. I feel there might be a big separation in the gaming community with all these acquisitions. Or we will be forced to buy console X to play game Y. I really don't like the aspect of all of that. Which is why I'll stick to Nintendo for the time being, even though I'll be missing out on 4K graphics and possibly awesome titles. I don't even have time to play every single release on Switch anyway.
@BloodNinja,
You have to look at the reasons the Wii U failed, and you have to remember that Nintendo was dipping it's toes into a whole new market with the Wii and DS, and both techs were in their infancy for consumer products, hence the huge success of the Wii and DS generation (Basically the very definition of lightning in a bottle), by the time the Wii and 3DS were releasing Nintendo had totally underestimated both the fickle nature of their casual audience and the fact cheaper tablet devices and smartphones were much more common and cheap to buy. So basically most of the Wii and DS's audiences were simply not there anymore.
With the Switch it looks like Nintendo have learned a valuable lesson from all this, and going forward the Switch brand is in much better shape than the Wii was, but as with all of these things only time will tell.
@KirbysAdventure "and no matter how dominantly our own games sell on our hardware, you will still be curious to bring your IPs here because we're the only portable console this generation and there will always be people whose money you will miss out on unless they can carry the games with them and play anywhere".
Nintendo don't even care about 3rd parties. They made the consoles for their own games. The thousands of indie games are enough to replace the 3rd parties.
As always, Nintendo doing their own thing while everyone else is beating eachother to a pulp.
This is a good thing.
@BloodNinja But thats not why the WiiU failed.
Always maintained Nintendo's strength is their own IP's and they have done a great job promoting them this time, their foray into the mobile market is very smart, I know some will be unhappy but the additional brand placement will have contributed to Animal Crossing and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's success.
@Serpo statements like these, while already erroneous at their core (Nintendo wouldn't outright help publish many a third party game or heed stuff like Capcom's RAM request if they didn't care), sound extra odd when phrased like this - how did indies, especially given their etymology, come to be a separate term from "3rd party games"?🤔
@johnvboy the question is if the next thing after the Switch is a succes too, Nintendo could always make another mistake because they live in their own made world.
That own made world is like flipping a coin, one side is huge succes like the DS, Wii or Switch, while the other side are huge fails like the VirtualBoy or the Wii U.
As for not buying other devs, with how Nintendo is and acts like a company, buying others doesn't give them any benefit, because they can buy whoever they want but as long Nintendo stays and acts they way they are, buying others doesn't add anything to that.
@Mattock1987 true
But it is a fact that Nintendo was always tone deaf, on more points than gaming only.
The only real reason to start buying out studios would be to keep the other two's grubby hands off them but that's not enough reason to go spending serious money. Worst comes to worst, Nintendo will always have a good library of first party titles and there will always be plenty of quality indie games on top of that. Hopefully most of the better third party studios stay that way though.
“Nintendo will always stay Nintendo”
Yeah, milking their fanbase dry by being greedy. I can believe that.
@BloodNinja Maybe you should contact nintendo and let them know where there going wrong. It seem to be a popular sport for you on here.
Big ups to Nintendo for having some principles regarding this stuff even with all their other ***** Switch business practices.
@MrHonest Might see a new Pilotwings game in another 5 years, if we're lucky.. Probably lacking content too.
@MrHonest
And this differs from any other company?
@Rayquaza2510,
Would agree with you from the Wii/DS to Wii U/3DS generation as it was tough to judge a market they had been kind of forced into, but I think they have a great chance in taking the Switch model forward.
Plus Nintendo are not tone deaf just because they refuse to listen to core minority internet forum experts, as I am sure they will be doing the correct research to make sure they stay in business, in fact Japanese companies try to look very far ahead, of course a little tough with tech and the wider mass market, but pretty sure they have it covered, although I am sure the internet keyboard analyst's views are of great value to them.
@MrHonest,
Few boo's from the crowd I see.
@westman98 I would argue Nintendo is one of the worst since they are charging for subpar online and overpriced old ports. Also charging for expansion pack is a hilarious joke.
@RubyDevilNine shhhh no tears. Only dreams.
@MrHonest Nintendo is a company. In order for a company to exist they need to make money. They make money by selling their technology and games to as many people they can.
Sure you can call that greedy, but it's simply how economics work.
A company will only do something for you, if that thing (in the end) gives them money. Either directly, or indirectly.
Nintendo should buy gamefreak and have full control of the development. Secondly, Buy Atlus from sega.
If Nintendo were to buy Capcom you would all jump over the moon. Exclusive Resident Evil, Monster Hunter and Street Fighter makes so much more sense than Bungie anyway. I do not know the value of Capcom but this would guarantee my console loyalty for life.
Buy Mercury Steam, Nintendo!!!
@johnvboy "Plus Nintendo are not tone deaf just because they refuse to listen to core minority internet forum experts"
That still makes them tone deaf.
Just because most people don't care doesn't mean something is a good idea, I mean the smartphone market is a great example where companies just do what they want, no matter if "the minority" complains, because the other 99% of the people is fine that their headphone jack is gone, their charger too and that they can not expand their internal memory with a dirt cheap microsd, yet their phone is 800 or even 1200 euro.
It is true that no matter what topic we start about, gaming, smartphones or even politics, as long the majority of people do not care and just agree with everything you present to them, things are staying the way they are.
It is not always a good thing to listen to a minority, that is true but Nintendo never does even if they claim otherwise.
And as for the "japanese company" story, without starting a long discussion that on it's own doesn't mean much.
I mean they still make some fun products, but by listening to others they could make great products, and they don't even need to listen to what people trow at them, just look around you Nintendo because some of your stuff could be some much better if you were not as tone deaf.
That is just my simple opinion, but as a Nintendo fan for years, that is one thing that did never change, while other stuff like the meaning of the "Nintendo seal of quality" did over the years for example (just to name 1 thing).
P.S. And before someone else starts about other companies making mistakes, that's not what the discussion is about, it's now about Nintendo.
@Rayquaza2510 if Nintendo was always tone deaf, they wouldn’t be as successful as they are.
@Rayquaza2510 The Switch successor will not fail anywhere as much as the Wii U if it stays hybrid. It will have Pokemon. When people compare the Switch to the Wii U they always forget the 3DS. It was never even possible for the Switch to sell anywhere close to the Wii U because it's not only a home console but also a handheld and has Pokemon.
@Mattock1987 look at apple
just to name the first example that came to my head.
many companies are tone deaf, I was waiting until someone made that comment you just did, which means you don't understand the issue (which is fine)
@GingerNinja Capcoms market cap is currently about 6.5 billion dollars.
@Dpishere to be fair, when Nintendo bought Monolithsoft in 2007, their then-newest game was a PS2-exclusive FFVII spin-off
@sanderev Look, dude. I get it. You’re emotionally invested in an corporation that doesn’t care about you. No point to defend them.
@RubyDevilNine shhhh. Everything is going to be fine.
I think that Nintendo should definitely buy the companies who own fzero, pilotwings, wave race, 1080 and release them! . . . Oh wait! Xxx
They should just buy SEGA and united the two most recognizable gaming mascots in history under the same banner. That could be interesting.
@Rayquaza2510,
Yet you use another company as an example to make your point, and again there is no definitive right or wrong to any of this, you and others have issues with something and are correct to do so on a personal level, but you have to understand some do not have the same problems. Now this does not make them correct and you and others wrong or vice versa.
I like you are a long term Nintendo fan, and have been since the NES, they are not perfect, but overall do a pretty good job imho.
@MrHonest
So outside of your personal opinion which I don't care about, nothing different.
@westman98 And yet you answered lol.
If anything they could build 1-2 more studios to keep more content coming. Nintendo has enough IPs, they need more workforce
@johnvboy like expected you read it wrong.
As so many people here do.
Having a opinion is fine, you have yours and I have mine and I am not changing someone their opinion.
But that doesn't change the facts.
That's Internet in a nutshell, and that is how people who are "fine with things the way they are, even if they could (or were) be better" are, just because you or I don't have a problem with a product that has issues, that doesn't mean we should ignore them like they do not exist, that's a free pass for companies to do whatever they want to.
"Happy happy joy joy" is what most people prefer...
And I am waiting till someone starts about voting with you wallet, that makes sense for bad products and that is not the case here, it's about products with issues and that is a whole different topic.
People should be more vocal about issues in products of ALL companies, not just Nintendo.
Anyhow I wasted my time again so I give up, I expect to read more comments later on from people that don't want to understand the issue, and that change what I said into how they see it, which is not the same.
Oh well...
@Rayquaza2510
Read your comment several times, sorry if you feel I have taken your points the wrong way.
So you are stating Nintendo could be a much better company, and make better overall products, but is that not true of everyone, and who decides what better products and services are, you..... and a few people on the internet, or the mass market customers, not sure we will find a definitive answer to any of this.
@johnvboy just saw this comment so before I log out...
I dumped that comment on a group of people I know, so unless they are clones of me (which I doubt) they do get it.
that's I have to say.
@Rayquaza2510,
So what?, I get your comment too, I just do not agree with it, but no issues, nobody has died, and the world will continue to turn and all that.
@Rayquaza2510 Apple isn’t tone deaf- it knows many of its consumers will buy anything they make. I see from your other comments that you’re just trolling so I’ll leave you to it.
@MrHonest The things I point out count for every single company. Including the local groceries store. They don't care about you. None of them do. NONE. OF. THEM. DO. Thinking Nintendo would be magically different, is just stupid. They only care that you pay them and keep paying them.
And by saying that "Nintendo is greedy" you simply prove that you are emotionally invested (negative emotions are still emotions) in Nintendo.
And so am I, though, since I am posting this on a Nintendo fansite.
@BloodNinja What does the Wii U have to do with anything?
Basically what Iwata said way back. But it makes sense competing with acquisitions will just turn into a spending war.
And only Microsoft would win a spending war.
@Rayquaza2510 If the majority of customers don't care about a product feature then a company isn't tone death for not prioritising or including it.
@MrHonest people are still on this?
I get it, it’s more expensive than Xbox gamepass and the thing PlayStation is doing, forces you to buy it upon buying the console and is constantly shoved down your throat and shamed with big ads on the main menu telling you the games it has, forcing you to scroll passed it.
Reading the other thread there are very few good fits for Nintendo in terms of size and scope.
I also think people aren't factoring in the losses Microsoft (and to a much lesser extent Sony) are taking on buying this companies.
So for Microsoft you've taken one of the biggest publishers on the planet and either get them to do exclusives for Xbox and GamePass and see the value of your $70bn probably half because they've reduced the size of their market massively. They won't be able to sell anywhere near as many games. Sure it ups the Xbox brand, but reduces the value of the brands tied to them.
For example if they made Overwatch Xbox exclusive then that means less Overwatch sales means cash, but also lessens the brand. People see less Tracer. Same for everything else they've just bought.
Alternatively they keep everything cross platform and then it's just a meaningless investment. They may as well have put their money in US Treasury bonds.
Understanding that, and looking at Nintendo's profile they can't reasonable buy anyone of the size of Activision or EA. Of the publishers they can buy they'll face a similar problem to devalue the brands they buy. So for example if they buy SquareEnix, they'd need to repurpose 70%+ of those studios to work exclusively on Switch. That's not just staff, there's still a huge issue of having to bin engines and tools which would now be worthless because you're not going to use them anymore. A hugely challenging task and worst, value is heavily weighted with employees who can say actually we don't want to work on old tech and just leave. Again huge losses in the value of the publisher you've bought.
That applies to all cross platform devs. So on paper Platinium looks a good fit (setting aside their own desire to become self publishing) But if you buy them and 50% of the staff leave because they want to push the graphics envelop then ok you've got some IP and an empty shell.
It's why the Rare sell was such a great deal. They understood where the value was. It was in Nintendo's own designer and tech support and the Stampers. Take that away and they're just another studio so when Microsoft came in with a crazy offer it was a no brainer. Alternatively for MS it's pocket money, they can afford the risk profile, doesn't work out? Doesn't matter.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Dread was so good, MercurySteam got a lot of help from Nintendo in terms of design. That's the model which makes the most sense for Nintendo. Same with the Luigi's Mansion 3 people.
Back to the Activision piece, if Microsoft suddenly made all that IP exclusive then that $70bn is probably worth $30bn in a single day. Sure the Xbox brand goes up but by the amount they lose? With those numbers that's a risk only someone like Microsoft can take.
@sanderev,
Yes people clinging onto certain companies caring about them, as if certain ones care and others don't, I am under no illusions that pretty much every company only really cares about it's profits.
@MrHonest @Rayquaza2510 @Dr_Lugae why argue so much about corporate *****. Nintendo to me is willing to take huge risks to find new ways for their customers to have fun even if it could fail easily like Wii U unlike most other companies. that innovation imho, but i know innovation for many people means buying most expensive chip from suppliers or making tree and rocks looks beautiful. Nintendo games which they were fully in control of development do not drop in standard. Prices of game stay the same if not less after inflation adjustment. Many netizens have many ideas. but choosing what not to do is equally as important as choosing what to do. running a multi billions company is complex.
@johnvboy well, Pokémon in a great shape? Far from truth! Arceus has some good gameplay concepts but it’s a severely half baked product that used BOTW assets just have move visual charm, but next to BOTW is has nowhere near the polish! It’s a big IP that got successful because they lured in small kids, but for adults?! Look how they obliterated Briliant Diamond? And Nintendo moved Gamefreak into their own building and still Gamefreak did a lazy ass job. This game needed like 1more year at least to reach where it needs to be. Everyone just cares for monetizing IP’s and quality is overall diminishing in majority of titles. Nintendo needs to gather talents because one their competition takes over a lot of good studios- Nintendo won’t be able to sell good 3rd party games- and not everyone can buy multiple consoles. Look how troublesome it is today to get old games back for Nintendo- all their former staples- Goldeneye, Banjo- it’s because some IPs are out of their control. They need to solidify at least some groundwork. Look even today- Nintendo is unable to maintain exclusivity of some titles like Monster Hunter Rise- time exclusive?! And that is maybe the best game on Switch with the most polish next to BOTW. It’s sad where the game market moves.
Nintendo need urgently to expand it development divisions/studios, not buy companies such a Sega/Capcom.
@Croarus So new ways to drain their fanbase for money? That’s Nintendo for me right now.
the problem is if Sony buys Square, Capcom, or Sega, then those 3rd party games won't appear on Nintendo consoles anymore. And I'd be very upset to lose them
Nintendo is being very naive.
Investing in themselves is a great idea, and it's what nintendo have been doing for years, they do have some of the greatest ips and talent, I'm also glad that they won't rule out future acquisitions and also wont compete directly buying out publishers willynilly and start bidding wars that they may not be able win as sony and Microsoft can throw larger amounts of money around, but I do fear that if capcom, sega, namco all get bought up by sony or Microsoft and nintendo not having access to the classics (Street Fighter, sonic, pacman) or any new version of a certain companies game will definitely hurt nintendo in the long run especially when partnerships and associations may no longer be possible...
@Kage_M pokemon is produced by gamefreak NOT nintendo. Nintendo Dont make pokemon, they ONLY publish it. Nintendo DONT own gamefreak zzzz
@MrHonest Yup they can certainly earn my money(or drain money). no complain. because they could with the games they produces, which wont exist without them and their culture(As oppose to companies like EA or Activism). Like your labor, your boss pay for it. i guess he doesn't complain bout you draining his or her money.
@Croarus I didn’t say they own it, but they moved Gamefreak into their main office to supervise their development- since GF keeps failing. I guess even that didn’t help much.
@Kage_M they are different company. which source telling you they supervise them? Nintendo is not their superior. even if they really supervise them, they just moved in. game take years to make, a good one at least. And I could argue that they are already making progress in gameplay, tho the trees and rock still in bad shape.
The mainline titles of most big 3rd party companies are not even released on Nintendo consoles. There would be no point buying any of them, their main market is elsewhere.
So Nintendo will lose out on all third party games and they are fine with it?
They don't release enough games themselves to compete with the other studios.
We saw that with the WiiU.
Nintendo merging the portable and stationary gaming divisions was supposed to be a good thing, but the output dropped significantly!
@Spider-Kev,
The global Pandemic has to be factored in a little there, and there are loads of games for the system, only slowed down when Covid hit.
@Kage_M,
Looking at sales GameFreak is in great shape, but of course that does not equal quality or satisfaction. and they are just lucky that people buy anything with Pokemon on it.... etc etc
Or just perhaps, just perhaps...., people might buy and enjoy something you do not personally like, no right or wrong in any of it, it's just not the way these things work.
@nhSnork Indies are not big studios like Capcom, Ubisoft, EA, etc - they are not 'party'. Indies started out as individuals making homebrew games, today some of them formed companies but they are still minuscule compared to 3rd parties.
How many original 3rd party games are there for Switch? Nintendo is doing more Indies Direct than showing games from big 3rd parties.
@Serpo last time I checked, the use of the word "party" in this context wasn't defined by the number of people or capitalization involved on a given side. Unless you're using some kind of British English specific I neglected to learn (no sarcasm implied - significant reliance on Hollywood and NA-published video games in the language studies will make you cautious about the possibility 😅).
As for the indie to "big studio" output ratio, it's unsurprising regardless of platform - indie projects are often much smaller in scale as well, which leads to proportionally shorter production cycles and much less ridiculous system requirements (well, most of the time).
@johnvboy this is not what me or you like. This is about overseeing the market. I have known the series since the very beginning and nobody can argue against me saying that they do a lazy work on new titles- character models, dialogue, story, interaction, gameplay balancing, meaningful side story quests and content. Look at Arceus- it’s like 2D game in 3D- just the dialogs- 3characters speak, one turns and speaks- like they always translate the same formula. The beginning even starts like BOTW- the same light…?! Such a lack of creativity. No NPC’s in the maps-no try to make the world more believable- other trainers fighting with Pokémon or each other, running away. Just run through area, catch, return, with some extra tasks like Assassin’s legacy of meaningless fetchquests. The game shows promise at first, but it’s just an incohesive patchwork. It’s a good demo, but needs more time in the oven- releasing it in such shape just shows money matter more than quality. I don’t care for graphics, but shadows rolling like curtains just few steps in front of me?! Seriously? Clearly they didn’t waste time with any kind of polishing or testing.I love the series, but they lost me since Sun/Moon. Black 2 was the last really solid game. It’s a shame because the game could be easily 9/10, this is 6,7/10 at best-without even judging the graphics. It would make more sense if this was some indie 3rd party start up, but Pokémon is the most profiting IP in the World! They make $&@“load of money and could afford to hire crazy talents and make an insane quality game- on par with Zelda, God Of War, Doom Eternal, Last of Us- these games push the IP to its top potential, and Gamefreak could do the same- Pokémon makes 4x the revenue of Call of Duty, 10x more than Final Fantasy and GTA , and look where Final Fantasy and GTA are today. There is no excuse. If we won’t fight for quality, nobody will give it to us. We create the market! It’s up to the customers demands, but if most just blindly nod and accept bad quality, it will become the new standard! I care for quality and the most profiting IP should offer it to their fans. The problem is, there are over 200 000 people born each day. If we don’t speak out, they can ignore any of us and just keep selling crap to the younger generation that slowly adapts to the newly decreasing norm, and can totally ignore everyone else. Speak out people! Thanks!
I do think, for as much as Nintendo likes to appear to be above such kind of ruckus, I'm not holding my breath on something not ever happening. If you really look at their language on the matter, they aren't outright saying they are opposed to acquiring an outside studio. Just that it has to make sense for the brand. So it looks like they are leaving themselves some wiggle room just in case.
Nintendo has always done things their own kooky way. They're not above an acquisition, but I doubt they'd ever go for something huge the way Microsoft just did.
@Kage_M
I agree with your take, FWIW. Initial hype will drive the game's success but in time, people will look back on Arceus as more of a demo of what Pokemon evolved into, or could have evolved into, depending on the future.
@KirbysAdventure we'll see.
I think Nintendo should maybe take the opposite approach and invest in indie companies who show a great deal of promise - if not purchase them outright, give them the opportunity to become a second party developer with the freedom to still make their own company decisions.
I think "drafting" various up and coming, talented indie companies would be of a huge benefit to Nintendo longterm. There is little financial risk as investing in indie and gaining some degree of exclusivity would cost a great deal less than it would trying to purchase a massive third party company.
@Kage_M,
So far I am enjoying it, and as I said there are some rough edges but overall the best Pokemon game i have played in years.
@Lord They didn't buy Rare cause all the main event stars that made up Rare were gone by that point. There's no reason to keep them around if the main event team are no longer with the company. I mean would you buy WCW if all you had is just jobbers without any big names, you won't get Goldberg, Sting, Hogan, Flair, Nash, Hall, Steiners, etc? Besides after Nintendo sold Rare to Microsoft they use that same money to buy Monolith Soft so in the end it totally makes up for it.
@BloodNinja Just cause Nintendo don't want an acquisition this time this gen doesn't mean they hadn't acquired anything in the past. Companies like Rare, HAL Lab, Game Freak, Alpha Dreams, Brownie Brown, Camelot Software Planning, and Monolith Soft were all acquired by Nintendo. Of course Nintendo did let most of those go but a majority of them are still with Nintendo.
Removed - unconstructive
Removed - flaming/arguing
@BloodNinja,
Still dividing people into attack and defense I see, how is it working out for you?.
@UmbreonsPapa Nintendo would rather work with third party then acquired them is the tradition they had always go with. A majority of their games were done or created by third parties too like Sin and Punishment (Treasure), Astral Chain (Platinum Games), Cruis'n (Raw Thrill/Midway), F-Zero GX (Sega), Donkey Kong Country series (Rare), Zelda games like the Oracle games, Four Swords, and Minish Cap (Capcom Flagship), Mario Kart Arcade GP series (Namco Bandai), Endless Ocean (Arika), The Last Story (Mistwalker), Pokemon and Drill Dozer (Game Freak), Mario Party series (Hudson), Super Mario RPG (Squaresoft), Star Fox Assault and Pokken Tournament (Namco Bandai), Geist (n-Space), Eternal Darkness (Silicon Knights), Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors (Tecmo Koei), Advance Wars Re-Camp (WayForward), Super Smash Bros. 4 and Ultimate (Namco Bandai), etc.
> Mario Kart 8 DX is the best-selling Mario game of all time and the 2nd best-selling Nintendo game ever.
> Animal Crossing New Horizons has outsold Mario Kart Wii and is now the 4th best-selling Nintendo game ever. Animal Crossing New Horizons is also the first game in history to sell 10+ million copies in Japan.
> Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl is the fastest-selling Pokemon remake and the 3rd fastest-selling Pokemon game ever (behind Sword/Shield and Sun/Moon).
> Pokemon Sword/Shield has outsold Gold/Silver and is now the 2nd best-selling Pokemon game of all time.
> Mario Party SuperStars narrowly beat Super Mario Party to become the fastest-selling Mario Party game ever.
> Skyward Sword HD has outsold Skyward Sword on Wii.
> Metroid Dread is the 2nd best-selling Metroid game ever and only ~100K units away from outselling Metroid Prime.
What series does Sony or Microsoft have that can boast about similar success? Well, they can with Skyrim, but they had to BUY that success.
Quite correct really. They need to concentrate on upping their internal development capacity. I’m sure the opportunity to pick up smaller companies that are a good fit will come along but to compete in the small segment of the Games market that Nintendo are doing so well in, they don’t need any major acquisitions.
Personally I’d like to see them fund more Western Indie development but that’s about all.
@Serpo
Indies are third party developers. It isn’t decided by size. It’s decided by their relationship with the platform holder.
@Paraka,
Amazing numbers and so many franchises selling their best on the Switch, and this will only increase as the install base gets higher.
My take out of it was Super Mario Party selling 17 million copies, pure insanity.
@MrHonest considering that their online membership is a fraction of the price vs MS and Sony, as a consumer I wasn’t really expecting that much and pay for the service and the expansion pack cause my wife enjoys the retro games. It is what it is, the lack of native online chat is a blessing imo 🤷♂️ I’m more concerned about raising gas prices and the cost of poultry then 19.99 a year for base online membership 😂
@BloodNinja did you ever sit down and have that cookie you are coming out in force today 😂 all in good fun my dude
@Draxa I would love a cookie lol
@johnvboy I don't have power over others, nor do I seek it.
@johnvboy - That's just milestones hut within the 2021 fiscal year. Skyrim hit like a 27 mill Milestone this year as well.
But that comparison was my point why MS had to buy something, their IPs isn't as lucrative. So Nintendo competing isn't really a need as it is a want to justify a personal stance about the company.
If Sony or MS was doing numbers like this with Ratchet and Clank, or Halo, they wouldn't be bothered buying up frickin' Activision of all companies.
Halo hasn't made many milestones, but Call of Duty does.
@johnvboy best in years unfortunately doesn’t compliment the game since since Black 2 (2012) it went drastically downwards. I agree it’s better than Sun, USUM, SS, but these were games that didn’t do the series justice. Is it the best game since 2013? Yes it is, but the last 8years were the the bottom of the barrel for the franchise.
@BloodNinja,
We agree on that point.
@Kage_M,
Never had any issues with any of the Switch games to be honest, do understand your concerns though.
@BloodNinja Why would we put it next to Wii U sales? It wasn't made next to Wii U. That was five years ago, and it's a brief period flanked by two 100-million-selling home consoles, bolstered by overlap of extremely hot dedicated handhelds, all wrapped up with record smashing software sales.
And that's to say nothing about their side initiatives like Pokemon GO, their parks in Universal, and their move back into film. They're an uncommonly healthy business in an industry where studios fail left and right, the most cash-rich company in Japan, and one of the most successful gaming companies ever. I think they've earned the right to comment on their own path to success.
Also, if Nintendo is your "least favorite company," then it makes zero sense for you to be spending your valuable time on a Nintendo fan site.
@BloodNinja we’re the Common Sense Brigade. We’ve warned you before.
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I'm not sure that anyone should try to compete with Microsoft on their spending spree. Glad Nintendo keeps doing their thing and people love them.
@BloodNinja It's a Nintendo site! Seriously, why is it so hard for some people to understand how this works?? Would you go on a site called Chocolate Life and talk crap about chocolate and then act all indignant when people start defending chocolate? That would make you a troll. It's obvious.
What you're doing is the internet equivalent of lighting a building on fire and then rolling your eyes as the fire department shows up. "Oh look, it's the anti-fire brigade, yet again. FIGURES."
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Furukawa's statement actually was very reassuring to hear, and gives me more confidence in his sensibilities as a leader for Nintendo.
@Andy_Witmyer Imagine if Nintendo "drafted" the Hollow Knight dev, and offered him a suite of support staff to speed up dev time, then commissioned him to develop the next 2D Metroid after Hollow Knight 2 is completed. (Mercury Steam seems preoccupied with something else for the next few years)
Or drafted Shin'en Multimedia, commissioning them to create a new F-Zero?
Platinum Games definitely needs to be commissioned to make a follow-up to Star Fox Assault, serving as a Star Wars Battlefront killer.
I firmly believe Star Fox contains a wealth of untapped potential, and could be nurtured into Nintendo's killer sci-fi IP, with loads of potential games akin to Rogue Squadron, Star Wars Battlefront, etc. Even Star Fox Adventure feels similar in spirit to Star Wars adventure games like Jedi: Fallen Order. All it needs is a resurgence with one great new game, similar to how Nier: Automata served to revitalize the Nier franchise.
@Ulysses If Team Cherry took over Metroid, I would pee. (with glee.)
@BloodNinja I’m not defending a corporation, I’m defending common sense. You used to be kind of normal. What happened?
@BAN It's normal to dislike companies that don't align with your outlook, bro. There's no such thing as common sense; all knowledge is taught and learned.
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Nintendo isn’t against acquisitions in principle, but only if they are necessary.
This would be more strategy move then anything else. Studios can go bust and that could hurt more then it help.
@Kage_M just gonna say that while I appreciate your opinion for what it is, an opinion. There are many others including myself that are enjoying the game. That doesn’t mean that they are being complacent with what you call lazy development just because you didn’t like the product 🤷♂️ Different strokes for different folks. I personally think it’s a refreshing take on the franchise.
The only company that could be interesting to buy for Nintendo is Konami: It's a japanese company, with tons of games historically bound to Nintendo consoles: Castlevania, Contra, Ganbare Goemon.
It would be a dream.
@Dpishere Bayonetta was not available on a Nintendo console until they bought it. So they did lock out the old Xbox and Playstation fan base from the sequel. Nintendo is good about their purchases, but not perfect.
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The switch doesn't have GTA, Destiny, or COD yet it is still the best selling console for the past two years in a row and is almost going to outsell PS4's lifetime sales in the middle of its own console life.
@Specter_of-the_OLED I understand their stance on preferring to work with partners rather than acquiring them. I'm also aware of many of their best games having been developed with those partners. But in reference to what's going on now, they aren't outright against the idea of acquisitions. They make the point that it must fit into their current philosophy and culture. But it looks like they are leaving themselves some wiggle room in case the perfect opportunity arises. I doubt it would be any of the major developers in question. I guess I am just pointing that out just in case they do make a move and folks start bellyaching about Nintendo flip flopping on their word
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@RubyDevilNine Have you been living under a rock for the last 20 years?
Microsoft has had arguably its best year ever last year with Forza & Halo Infinite.
Sony consistently bring out Game of The Year contender. GT7 & Horizon are literally weeks away.
Will never understand fanboyism.
I do think that Nintendo need to enter the acquisition race. It’s not MS or Sony they need to worry about…it’s the other big tech companies- Google, Apple, Tencent. They have so much money that it’s literally a drop in the bucket.
I’m not happy with consolidation of the industry, but at this point it’s get eat or be eaten. I think Platinum Games would make perfect sense for Nintendo.
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Nintendo should buy sega to save sonic
@ForestBlue Probably. I usually ignore people, but once I start seeing the "Nintendo defense force!!!!" line on this, a Nintendo-specific site, I become deeply annoyed by the sheer unawareness it exhibits. It's bad enough to have to contend with it on twitter and general gaming sites, but it would be nice if we could have this one place that's specifically labeled for us.
But oh well, the web is trashy like that. Every space eventually attracts the attention of people that want to turn it into a landfill.
@MrHonest You know you don't HAVE to give them money, right? It's a consumer transaction. They make something, you choose to buy it or not. You aren't obligated to pay them. They're not the IRS.
@Draxa That’s a very childish response. If you were more adult, you would judge why I had to say instead of just tossing an argument without any regards to previous comments? Have I mentioned graphics in my comment?! No, right?! Please stop trolling! If you are not mature enough to read properly and have a solid response, don’t bother.
@Kage_M I’m sorry, did I fracture your ego? I gave a perfectly mature response to one of your earlier comments which you then responded to me by saying I was blind and basically don’t know what I’m talking about as you have “known” the gaming industry for thirty years (which I still find as a hilarious flex) 🤷♂️ preach about maturity all you want. Your colors have already been shown all over this thread. Have all the tantrums you want, but please for the love of whatever god you worship google the definition of opinion, cause the nonsense you keep spewing is the furthest thing from being actual facts. Enjoy the rest of your day!
@Draxa so people can finish elementary school by the age of 30, and it’s fine?! Is that what you are saying? Please don’t troll, you are abusive. Productive criticism is appreciated. We all have different standards, but if you are unable to see things for what they truly are, you are hurting the game industry, not me. I don’t even have a ps5 so I clearly don’t care for graphics. Have you even read my message?! It’s shocking and sad that people become so defensive of things that are precious to them because they grew up with them. If you have played all gens- you would agree with me, but if you feel like last few gens of Pokémon were amazing games, and that Arceus is a flawless game, we clearly have different standards.
@Kage_M by the by, legends is currently sitting at over an 8 in both critic and user scores on metacritic, is a 6,7/10 just your OPINION? Just curious where you got those numbers from 🤨 as opinions seems to be the base of our discord 😂
@Kage_M I’m not defensive you’re the one that can’t accept alternate views and preach your gospel as factual when it’s in fact based on your obvious opinions. Your opinions are not fact and your immediate rebuttal is your knowledge of the gaming industry and anyone who doesn’t agree is blind and elementary. You think your being mature my friend, which makes this even more pathetic and humorous. All I need now is a drink and some cheese 🧀
@Kage_M by the way I don’t recall saying flawless, your padding your comments with falsifications to suit whatever it is your trying to say 😂 I simply said it was a refreshing experience 🤷♂️
The difference between Xbox and Playstation with Nintendo is that Nintendo is a game studio of its own while Xbox and Playstation has to depend on other game studios but sometimes they don't make the end of their deal, so they buy them, but Nintendo does not need that as they are a game developing studio by themselves.
@KirbysAdventure Pokémon isn't a Nintendo IP
@BloodNinja @Kage_M So people look stupid or wrong because they have a different opinion than you, understandable. Nintendo is doing fine. look at other companies.. all those microtransactions, overpromise, ethical problems etc. constructive criticism is needed but talk lil bit more maturely would be good.
@Rhaoulos Pokemon is a shared property between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.
They don't have full ownership, but it's not third party either.
Don't you think Nintendo haven't seen the stock shortages of next gen systems. This is why I don't think there do a switch reveation untill at least march 2023. And if the shortages are still there to a degree than, they will wait longer. Hell it worked for N64 to release 2 years after next gen and if things carry the way they are than maybe even late 2024 isn.t to late for a new switch.
@Draxa if you are really in your late 30’s I feel sorry for you that you focus on such petty things, you don’t see the abstract but nitpick on little arguments, still, you totally miss the point of what I was saying, you talk about ego, and insulting?! You are just trying to win an argument, that’s not what I was trying to achieve. My point was that these games should have been better. Some people are happy with playing games, eating food, and doing nothing else. Some people want the create and improve things. You sadly answer like a 10-12 years old- and if you were an adult, you would focus on the core of the arguments but you just focus on insults, winning childish arguments. I am sorry for you. Maybe one day you will understand. Have you ever done any programming? Or tried to make a game? Create any content? You just consume and troll, and if that’s all you can do, don’t bother responding.
@Croarus Are you saying that you don’t see this game being better? I am trying to enjoy it, and as I said the concepts are great and fresh, but it seems that everyone keeps forgetting that Pokemon makes 10x the revenue of GTA or Final Fantasy, and look what these game do and how they have evolved. Do you feel it’s ok to have low standards and expectations-I mean the game is ok, but I feel with their money, the game could easily be Breath of The Wild quality atleast.
@Kage_M oh my bad, that changes everything I suppose 🤷♂️ you create/program video games now too? Which ones? Since this conversation is going nowhere I’ll leave you with this, if you don’t want a childish response don’t act like one. You talk about seeing the abstract yet all you’ve done is complain about a video game 😂 ok my dude you do you. I just find it entertaining to converse with someone who obviously has such a high opinion of themselves. Good job dodging all my other points by the way and excellent deflection skills. I guess I was trying to win a petty argument at the end of the day, I might not have been so inclined to if you weren’t so pretentious 🤔 Enjoy your day! And remember opinions are opinions, there will always be others with differing opinions from you and that doesn't make them wrong just because you can’t tell the difference between opinion and fact ✌️
@electrolite77 Nintendo has Indies Direct and obviously did not featured games from Capcom, Ubisoft or Square Enix. So Indies are in their own category because they are not big companies - size does matters.
@Serpo
That doesn’t mean anything though. It’s just how Nintendo angle a particular presentation. Indies are a type of third party. They wouldn’t put Capcom or Ubisoft in it because they’re a different type of third party. They’re still all third parties, regardless of size.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/third-party
https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/third-party-software
“ Yeah, milking their fanbase dry by being greedy”
“ So new ways to drain their fanbase for money?”
They are a business. They sell ephemeral Consumer products in exchange for money. Their sole goal is to get as much money as possible in exchange for those products. That goal is the same as every other company that does the same.
@electrolite77 If you ask Nintendo what their mission or purpose is, they're not going to say "to get as much money as possible" or even "to maximize value for our shareholders." If that's your "sole goal" then you quickly turn into a hedge fund or at best a mobile "game" company focused on monetization, usually to the detriment of everything else.
Here's what they actually say:
"Nintendo's mission is to put smiles on the faces of everyone we touch. We do so by creating new surprises for people across the world to enjoy together. We've forged our own path since 1889, when we began making hanafuda playing cards in Kyoto, Japan. Today, we’re fortunate to be able to share our characters, ideas and worlds through the medium of video games and the entertainment industry."
https://www.nintendo.com/about/
@blecch
Making money is their main goal. Satisfying their shareholders is critical as you can see from what they say at their Corporate briefings whether it be Iwata or Furakawa or whoever.
The rest is corporate marketing. If you believe that I’ve got some magic beans to sell you.
Nintendo will be milking Pokémon and Mario for a thousand years.
@SeantheDon29 Custom discs cost more to manufacture than using a widely available format that had been around since the previous decade.
They weren't really being cheap not using CDs, also remember the N64 was more powerful than the Playstation and the Saturn which was the middle man in the 5th gen.
So they definitely didn't cheap out on the N64 in any regard.
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